How to get out of a slump - 5 ways to overcome laziness & boost Productivity
Regardless of who you are, I would bet that you have had a moment in your life where you were in a slump. A time where you didn’t feel like doing anything and had 0 motivation for life.
It can feel like it will NEVER end. Like there is no getting better. I thought that too, until I realized there is an easy way out of it that is SO SIMPLE, it will blow your mind.
In this blog post, I am going to share with you the top 5 ways to overcome laziness & boost your productivity when you feel yourself falling into a slump.
By the end of this, you will know exactly WHY you get into slumps in the first place and how to get out of them so make sure you watch until the end.
So without further a due, let’s get into it.
These 5 things are what I do every time I feel myself getting into a slump and they instantly help me feel more productive and get back to my best self.
Step 1 for how to get out of a slump is THINK SMALL
I know this one sounds weird and it goes against a lot of the personal growth & productivity ideas on ‘think bigger’ and shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land amongst the stars… WHAT? I never understood that quote. I’m pretty sure if you shot for the moon, you would burst into flames.
But what I mean by thinking small is looking at setting small vehicle goals. What are vehicle goals? Vehicle goals are goals that move you towards your bigger goal. They are vehicles that are putting you on the path to the bigger things that you want.
When we are in a slump, it is easy to feel like our goals, the things we want to do are so far away.
When we set smaller vehicle goals, they seem much more attainable. They seem much more realistic which raises the likelihood that we actually do them.
So step 1 is think small in terms of the vehicle goals you need to set in order to move you towards your bigger goals.
Step 2 for how to get out of a slump is ACTIVITY
What I mean by activity is you need to Take Action. If you feel stuck and need to get out of a slump, action is the cure.
When you take action, it tells your brain that you are in charge. It makes you think of more solutions, instead of more problems.
If you stay in a slump and let your mind wander aimlessly, it often times ends up just magnifying all of those thoughts of laziness and it makes things worse.
So what you want to do is make a list of all of the Activities you need to do or all of the actions you need to take in order for you to move forward.
Whether it’s for school, work, or a business, make a list of all of the essential activities & actions necessary to get you there.
This is how you can immediately get yourself from a place of feeling lazy & unmotivated to a place of feeling productive & energized.
Step 3 for how to get out of a slump is EXERCISE
I personally think this is the MOST important thing you can do to get yourself out of a slump.
When we are in a slump, feeling unmotivated, feeling lazy, our energy levels are low. When our energy levels are low, our brain tends to focus on all of the things going wrong instead of all of the things going right. It’s human nature.
It takes a lot more energy to focus on all of the things going right in your life.
Exercising is, in my opinion, the #1 thing to boost your level of energy. It has also been shown to boost cognition and improve your ability to focus.
Even if it’s just a walk around the block ,a quick run, a few squats, or a full workout, exercising is a KEY to being able to get out of a slump, no matter how bad it is.
So lace up those running shoes, touch your toes, and get moving.
The 4th step for how to get out of a slump is to AWARENESS
Awareness is absolutely essential in getting out of a slump. This can help you find out why you are in this slump in the first place.
Ask yourself:
Did I get enough sleep?
Have a drank water recently?
How do I feel emotionally?
What is going on in my life that can be linked to this?
When we have awareness of what got us here in the first place, we can take the necessary steps towards getting out of it.
Maybe you just went through a bad break up, or maybe you got no sleep last night, or maybe you failed an important exam, or maybe you bombed a presentation.
Regardless of what it is, having the awareness will help you find solutions for the next time it happens.
Whatever answer you got for the previous questions, you then have to ask yourself, what activities or actions I can do/ take to overcome this slump.
Not enough sleep? Take a nap
Not enough water? Chug a bottle
Feeling sad? Have a conversation with a friend you enjoy talking to
Failed an exam? Study harder than you ever have. turn that failure into fuel.
Step 5 for how to get out of a slump is REWARD YOURSELF
When you reward yourself, even for the smallest thing, it tells your brain to do more of what you just did. Reward your activities/ actions to make sure you are on the fast road out of the slump
So if you go to the gym once, reward yourself.
If you talk to your crush, reward yourself.
If you drink water consistently, reward yourself.
This trains our brain to do more of the things that move us out of laziness, out of feeling unmotivated, out of the slump.
Our brain will associate taking action with feeling good, which will cause you to take more action, thus creating an ‘ACTION LOOP’
You take action, it makes you feel great, since you feel great, you take more action.
These are the 5 things I do whenever I am feeling like I am in a slump. This is how I get out of it.
Does it still happen? Of course. Do I get out of it WAY quicker now? Absolutely.
Try these strategies out and you will be well on your way to getting out of slumps FAST.
Until next time, keep creating an epic life.
PS. If you'd like to watch the video, check it out here: